Documents / FOIA release

III-018 “The Theory of Military Art Needs Review,” by Col. Gen. A.I. Gastilovich and Lt. Gen. I.A. Tolkonyuk, special collection of Military Thought, top secret issue No. 1, 1960, CIA/DP Clandestine Report Special Collection, 18 December 1961,

Central Intelligence Agency · 23 pages · text from the file's own layer

This Central Intelligence Agency memorandum of 18 December 1961, sent to the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, encloses a verbatim translation of a Soviet article from the top secret 1960 first issue of the special collection of Military Thought. In the article, Colonel-General A. Gastilovich argues that nuclear missiles call for revising Soviet military doctrine. He favors short blitz operations, smaller ground forces and new rescue troops. It mentions "flying saucers" only as ground effect machines for army aviation.

the number of its documents.
Even now wire telegraphy and telephone communications should.be
added to obsolescent means of control as they will not be able to
keep pace with the operating tempo of troops.
Apparently even such an attribute of control as the preparation .
of large unit and army command posts with all types of shelters
(dugouts), by the forces and equipment of engineer troops, is
becoming obsolete. The rapid tempos of battles and operations require
highly mobile command points using available places of cover (cellars,
buildings, tunnels, quarries, etc.).
The recording. of meteorological conditions and their prediction
become a very important factor in operational planning and in daily
- control. In this connection, the creation of special meteorological .
units in all staffs from division to front is absolutely essential.
. Until automatic systems permitting rapid and accurate determi-
nation of coordinates for missile launchers are worked out, it is
-" essential to have in the staffs of armies and fronts a separate
.topogeodetic service with subordinate special units to support missile
units and -large units.
In this article we have only touched upon some of the most
- topical questions of military art. In connection with the development
of nuclear/missile weapons, the total number of postulates in need
- of review is undoubtedly much greater. Many of the questions touched
upon by us are set forth only by way of posing they and bringing them
to the attention of military-theoretical thought. Therefore, the
" udgements of the author cannot .lay claim to exhaustive copleteness
or infallibility. -
" ." .. (a
* 1.a)"

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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 23 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.